Library of Heaven’s Path

Description

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Traversing into another world, Zhang Xuan finds himself becoming an honorable teacher.

Along with his transcension, a mysterious library appears in his mind.

As long as it is something he has seen, regardless of whether it is a human or an object, a book on its weaknesses will be automatically compiled in the library.

Thus, he becomes formidable.

“Emperor Zhuoyang, why do you detest wearing your underwear so much? As an emperor, can’t you pay a little more attention to your image?”

“Fairy Linglong, you can always look for me if you find yourself unable to sleep at night. I am skilled in lullabies!”

“And you, Demon Lord Qiankun! Can you cut down on the garlic? Are you trying to kill me with that stench?”

This is an incredible story about teachers and students, grooming and guiding the greatest experts in the world!

Associated Names
One entry per line
LOHP
Thiên Đạo Đồ Thư Quán
Tian Dao Tu Shu Guan
天道图书馆
Related Series
Uncle-Master, Please Help Us (Shared Universe)
Recommendations
History’s Number 1 Founder (20)
Absolute Great Teacher (11)
I’m Really a Superstar (9)
History’s Strongest Senior Brother (9)
Cultivation Chat Group (6)
The Book Eating Magician (6)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Male Protagonist Novel
  2. Jame's - Cultivation
  3. Best Novels I Read in years (Must read for you)
  4. all of my 5/5 novels
  5. Collection

Latest Release

Date Group Release
03/14/17 Webnovel c80
03/12/17 Webnovel c79
03/11/17 Webnovel c78
03/09/17 Webnovel c77
03/08/17 Webnovel c76
03/07/17 Webnovel c75
03/06/17 Webnovel c74
02/23/17 Webnovel c73
02/22/17 Webnovel c72
02/21/17 Webnovel c71
02/21/17 Webnovel c70
02/20/17 Webnovel c69
02/19/17 Webnovel c68
02/18/17 Webnovel c67
02/18/17 Webnovel c66
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277 Reviews sorted by


Tkals13
Tkals13 rated it
January 31, 2017
Status: --
I actually like this novel, there tends to be some useless chatter/monologues from time to time but the story is still pretty enjoyable. The ability he gets happens to be pretty unique in my opinion and all though it's pretty easy to make him OP I think that's where we will have to truly rate the quality of the story. I want to see how he uses his ability to affect his students and the ppl around him and hopefully not just hide away somewhere get stronger then beat everyone... more>> up.. That's annoying! <<less
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solomonvn
solomonvn rated it
January 21, 2020
Status: c512
Imagine go to the mental hospital, challenge a bunch of brain problem patients, using cheat, then win, then laugh at their face. Now rinse and repeat ad nauseum and that's this novel. I honestly don't know if I should laugh or cry after reading some of the reviews here. Now if you say you like brainless face slap and comedy then sure we can agree to disagree and I can chalk it up to difference in taste. But MC is smart? Yep barely smarter than ret*rd. Story has depth? My... more>> toilet bowl has similar depth you're welcome to check.

I usually have much milder opinion over most thing but I already dropped this novel 100 chaps in and reading those above reviews give me the impression that maybe the story get better later and I'm missing out over initial prejudice. Nope still the same pile of turd like the first hundred chapters just bigger. So yeah thanks you very much.

Would give -10 if possible but since it isn't 1 will do. <<less
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deochry
deochry rated it
January 27, 2018
Status: c519
Dairy of Exaggerations and face slapping art path

story is like your reading a diary 100+ chapters per seven days feels like every second counts. MC is a robot doing something one after another.

every chapter have a lot of unnecessary exaggerations I wont be surprise if the content is 40% exaggeration and 60% story progression per chapter.

main side characters are shit. Aside from following and receiving guidance from the MC there is nothing more. Follow -> cultivate -> teacher is awesome!! After a few sentences in a single chapter of guidance... more>> their purposes disappear and the MC goes around face slapping everyone for 50+ chapters and boom "that's my teacher!!". Well is not that nice.
Spoiler

tho I have to admit that they did something unique sometimes but as I predicted they reverted back to the winds.

[collapse]

repetitive scenarios nothing new. If you skip a whole arch don't worry you won't lose anything aside from the awe of the MC face slapping everyone. More like it would be more fun to read it that way because
Spoiler

you will meet with a new side character princess, elder, hall master and any of that sh*t who just got their eyeballs dropped in the ground because of the MC's awesomeness.

[collapse]

repetitive enemies with no f*ckin goal whatsoever. Always exaggerating when underestimating the MC, got face slapped, done. The only difference is their names and status nothing more.

crowd is nothing but a spice for the exaggeration they are also the one who got face slapped by the MC all the time like 80% of face slapping goes to them. When the MC do the usual sh*t in public they talk sh*t to the MC in exaggerated way like they know the MC since birth and got face slapped and suck mc's d*ck in the end and vice versa.

nothing to expect in cultivation.

Spoiler

MC will always meet enemies with higher cultivation than him and you know what happens after that "face slapped!!".

[collapse]

it would be nice to see Zao ya and the others join in the fight, after twist and turns of life and death they grow stronger with the MC but the MC always solo face slapping everyone and become the limelight. His core disciples only grows after his guidance not their own effort. MC always gets everything alone and passed it to his disciples.

the only good part is

Spoiler

Lu Chong.

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Roktah
Roktah rated it
December 7, 2017
Status: c400
The major deal breaker of this story is the repetitiveness. The MC appears and does something incredible that awes the f*ck out of everybody present and/or slaps their faces (very much like "im really a superstar" just in a cultivation world), which is a phrase i've come to hate. This is a good synopsis for this novel as there is seriously nothing else contentwise. The supporting characters, like his students, are just there to show us how awesome the MC is, even though the author shows us how he is... more>> emotionally attached to his students, it just doesnt feel like he really is.

at the beginning it might be quite fun to read but as the story progresses and nothing changes, it come to the point where there is no point in continuing reading and wasting your time, as you already know whats going to happen, exactly, some "face slapping".

if you're somebody that could'nt bear to read "I'm really a superstar" then you won't be able to bear this novel either. <<less
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heads-or-tails
heads-or-tails rated it
July 8, 2017
Status: c185
Bullshit, Bullshit, and more Bullshit.

The only thing this novel has going for itself is the power the MC gets and nothing else, the rest of the chapters are about the reactions of the people around him and it is full of paragraphs just repeating what the MC did.

"The heck? Didn´t you say you were a novice at poison making how come you are so good, didn´t you say you wanted to learn a bit why are you able to create such good stuff.

Are you playing with us? Do you want... more>> to make s feel bad because of your ability? And it was true he was so skilled that no one could compare to him on the same level, so incredible mastering this super ultra rare sh*t in a second, so good, so OP, the ultimate stuff."

This is what you are going to read every single chapter and nothing else. From chapter fifty onward I was reading less than half the chapter now I am reading nothing more than the end because the author writes something like a summary there to fill it up. <<less
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Sef
Sef rated it
December 29, 2017
Status: c360
How can I say it... this is not the kind of story where stockpiling chapters to binge read later on will create a satisfying experience. It seems the more chapters I read in succession, the more painfully obvious the repetitiveness of this novel becomes.

This story is like that one game you played in the past that advertised hundreds of hours of "content". But somewhere around the 50 hour mark you start to realize you've been endlessly doing the same missions over and over again, just disguised as new events.

And what... more>> makes this worse is that the author writes as though he is stalling the reader just to make the chapters longer. Its gotten to the point where the titles of the chapters tell you all you need to know about what will happen. After a while you can realistically skip 3-5 chapters at a time by only reading the title and not miss anything at all.

This is further supported by the fact that over 300 chapters in, the author has somehow only managed to further the plot by less than two months. <<less
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Reindeer
Reindeer rated it
February 12, 2017
Status: c60
Gahaha, this is amazing!

5 stars, no doubt about it. Reminds me a lot of History's Strongest Teacher or something, this one is much more funny... and this is not because I don't remember a single thing about History's Strongest Teacher anymore, no.... I hope the title is correct.

Well anyway, this is pretty about in the characters and world building parts. Firstly, the characters, are all almost lovable. I mean come on, we can never really treat the antagonists seriously. I love how the MC just offends people left and right,... more>> whether they be hostile to him or not, albeit unintentionally XD. The best part about the novel, I guess, is just the level of shamelessness almost everybody has XD. Especially the MC. I really love the way he reacts to the challenges of other people. Talk about having a brain for an MC, am I right?.... Or not, I mean he doesn't really get that he's super OP yet. Well anyway, like I said, everyone's funny. I'm sure everyone had mood swings at least once after meeting the MC.

The world building, although not really the best, at least it's good. I mean, I've been reading too many jap novels lately, my head kinda hurts now....

I guess this is it for, I hope we get to see more. I really love it, comedy is really really good, reminds me a lot of A Thought Through Eternity.... Oh, right, they changed the name.

Well anyway, Peace out. <<less
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Huestar
Huestar rated it
May 10, 2020
Status: c323
To save you guys time, heres the plot :

Sg-some guy

Mc-main character

... more>> Sg: look how good I am at (insert random activity)

Mc: this is tr*sh and heres why (insert explanation why its tr*sh)

Sg:how dare you I challenge you to a duel in (said activity)

Mc: sure, let me see your library first.

Sg: you scared ? Sure go ahead

Mc: (reads whole library)

Sg: now lets start (both complete said activity)

Sg: lol how dare you insult my (activity) you are worse than me

Mc: (somehow transforms said activity to its highest form while pointing out flaws in Sg s activity)

Sg: omg I was wrong sorry master/uncle/grandpa etc.

Mc:thats not enough, you such tr*sh you are banned from doing (said activity) forever.

add or remove some face slaps, crowds screaming, using fake identities for no goddamn reason, keep repeating whole process, and thats it.

I just saved you several hours of your life. You are welcome <<less
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Fatbirb
Fatbirb rated it
January 27, 2020
Status: c1756
This one is the classic face-slapping-op-MC novel, and it is very entertaining until later chapters
The +
+Faceslapping
+Side-characters/temporary companions (some of them)
+Decent world building
+Main character actually uses his ability to help his students/friends/relatives
+No annoying constant threats on companions/friends/relatives
+Hilarious main character (until later chapters)
The -
... more>>
Spoiler

-The Master Teacher profession: Exams get completely skipped later on.
-Students: Early on the author baits you into thinking that his students will follow him, and that you will be able to see their growth together with the MC, yeah nope, they literally accept the offer of the first sect/guild that is interested on them just because they think they are a burden to their teacher or "need better resources", don't worry though, you'll see them again hundreds of chapters later with cultivations on par to the MC (or higher).
-The Master Teachers: pretty much every Master Teacher the MC encounters is a piece of sh*t young master tier who tries to take advantage of him, kill him or steal his sh*t (so much for the noblest profession).
-The "" (romance) "": Our MC gets showered with ""beauties"" (of course they're all interested on him, even his female students, who he claims they're the top X beauties in the continent, but he doesn't feel anything about them because "they're his students") so you have the author wasting chapters dropping new girls at the start of pretty much every arc while hinting that something might happen betweeen them and the MC (until he turns them down in the cringiest way possible while having an inner-monologue claiming that "they don't move him") over and over.. Until generic OP cold peerless beauty #57468 appears (don't forget that cold beauties are never interested on MCs) how does our 999 IQ MC react? He falls in love with her, and this is the point where the author completely breaks the MC's character, he suddenly becomes a brainlet who can't think by himself when in presence of her, or needs a double check from her in order to do something (even with the OP Library, not even joking) keeps asking random sh*t to her (and she gives accurate answers everytime because for whatever reason she knows everything, no exceptions) if he asks about her however (he doesn't even know her real name) she will reply with the cliche ("knowing about me is dangerous so stop") at this point I wouldn't be surprised and wouldn't care if she was confirmed to be a literal god with sealed cultivation.
I'm not a romance dude but it never bothered me to the point of dropping a novel, don't get me wrong cn novels having garbage romance for the sake of padding the chapter/word count is common, but breaking the MC's character in the process is not..
I guess the author got bored of the MC face slapping people and wanted to try face slapping the readers.

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clowred
clowred rated it
January 12, 2017
Status: c210
I'm still not sure what to expect from this story. It feels a little bland, and it seems to reuse quite a lot of ideas from other novels. His skill which should have been just a mediocre one, evolved to the rank of deus ex machina in just two chapters

... more>>
Spoiler

he advances two realms in a few hours

[collapse]

The protagonist is created by the author following the hidden lazy genius matrix. He is capable to stand in the center of attention thanks to his wits, and attracts enemies faster than a dump attracts flies. The fact that he comes from another world is completely ignored as he is suddenly capable in chapter 23 to

Spoiler

catch a blade using two fingers

[collapse]

I understand that this type of protagonist has become attractive because it give some sort of fulfillment to the reader seeing how the protagonist is capable instead of being dense. But creating one without using a backstory is.. Boring. Its hard to believe that a former high school student that was a librarian is capable of adapting to a world where killing someone is acceptable as long as you have status. For now, I hope that by some miracle his students will not become the generic 'power rangers'.

-edit after reading from chapter 24 - 120-

This novel doesn't stray from the path it created in the beginning, yet it manages to use some fresh and original ideas to not fall in the hell pit full of novels with too many cliches. The side characters become quite interesting and the way the author deals with the enemies is entertaining. A protagonist that starts not as some son of the heavens or some waste of a third rate clan but instead as a teacher made be become impartial as I sincerely forgive most of the usual mistakes and cliches and enjoy the story as a whole. While it sounds a little pushy, I recommend everyone to read it. It's actually funny, and the comedy is well done, especially once you compare it to tr*sh like Absolute Choice.

-edit after reading to chapter 210 and stopping.. - This novel contains only three voices, the protagonist voice, the voice of the proud yet ignorant and the voice of the loyal supporters of the protagonist. In the end depending on their opinion of the protagonist, their voices overlap into one either sweet and rotten or one sour and disgusting. The protagonist seems to be the only redeeming factor, and that's a lot to say when the protagonist is cheating like hell to raise his status and power. It's hard to digest it, it's like eating the same thing each day for, let's say one chapter is one day, so for me 210 days in a row I ate the same food. Too much no matter how much it was to my taste at the beginning. For now it's hard to say if I will ever go back to it, but who knows, maybe? I will drop my ratting by 1 star for now, and.. Well, treat this novel as a desert, good for a chapter or two from time to time, but never good enough to binge. <<less
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Not Red Yet
Not Red Yet rated it
June 24, 2018
Status: --
Started off interesting but turned into like almost all Chinese novels.

We have more chapters about a scammer and some women who thinks she's all that than we do him actually teaching. Doesn't help that our MC is the epitome of s*upid, Goes to shop "Oh forgot money" goes to book store asking for Cultivation manuals that was stated by him previously that it's hidden and not for sell.
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zouave
zouave rated it
June 22, 2018
Status: c1219
This could have been a great novel if only everything wasn't repetitive to the point where it gets annoying/tiring. Every few paragraphs and every chapter, there is always someone who underestimates the MC again and again, for no damn apparent reason. The face-slaps are so boring and annoying that it's not even funny anymore, as its being used way to often that you get sick of it. I would have liked it little better if author had decided to use little more common sense or make it more realistic in... more>> a sense that characters aren't there just for MC to slap them and has no brain in their heads...

Note: I enjoyed it reading mtl up till chapter 500 or so more than reading the actual translation lol mainly because I was imagining most of the gaps that was obvious in proper translation [The gaps being so unrealistic face-slaps and underestimation of MC every few paragraphs, mind you not every chapter but every few paragraphs...] <<less
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Sumasuun
Sumasuun rated it
January 30, 2018
Status: c525
2018 May 20 Update:

I forgot to mention a few things... Namely the "Cunning Protagonist" is an outright lie. He is without a doubt an idiot who lacks any common sense. The only reason it is even remotely an acceptable tag is because every other character is just much dumber than the main character. It is my opinion that this really speaks to how dumb the author himself is if he has to dumb down everyone in his story just to have a seemingly smart protagonist.

... more>> Original Review:

I have heard that the author is a teacher. Although I am uncertain if that is true, having read this novel I would guess that he is in fact a teacher but not for writing or literature. Moreover he is likely the epitome of a terrible and arrogant teacher as this comes off as wish-fulfillment for an arrogant and terrible teacher.

Like most Chinese exports at face value it seems okay and you can probably get enjoyment out of quickly binge reading the first arc, but as you look deeper into it you will start to notice the glaring problems until it just fall apart completely.

Although not a major issue if you hoard chapters and then binge read, one of my biggest problems is how it pads its chapters. Most Chinese novels do so in some way or another because of the model for web novel publishing as opposed to the Korean model, but this novel finds a way to go above and beyond that. In a single chapter when you are introduced to something new you will likely have it explained, received three metaphors you didn't ask for to explain it further, and then get a few totally out of place explanations to exaggerate how incredible our MC is to have twisted the common sense of this world it just established. Then in the next chapter you'll get a review of it in some way. None of the information actually has any lasting impact beyond a few chapters though, or if you're lucky it will remain important for the rest of the arc. Most of the time though all of this exposition is just for a single face-slapping incident to try to get a few more laughs.

It also sticks to the cliche where no matter how strong the MC is, it doesn't matter because as soon as he goes elsewhere, his over the top abilities he just gained because the baseline or below so he can immediately rinse and repeat his actions to power up again. This wouldn't be such a big deal if not for the poor world building, leaving you to question the poor logic and planning behind it.

Honestly, that's all I feel like saying because I've already wasted enough time on this terrible tripe. If not for my compulsion to finish the thing I have started reading I would have dropped this out of my life, and been better for it.

If you want to know more about the problems with this novel, hphunter's review is pretty apt in my opinion.

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CreamPuffDelights
CreamPuffDelights rated it
July 24, 2017
Status: c133
In most xianxia or wuxia novels, repetitive is always going to be one of the lain complaints. You're always going to have the same young master trope no matter how far he goes, he's always going to ho*kup with the best, most beautiful, most jadelike etc etc lady in existence, and most importantly, everytime he finishes one continent/ country/ level, he'll go to the next one so he can start from the bottom again and experience the whole rigmarole once more, rinse and repeat.

The issue with this novel, is that... more>> it's exactly like that, only taken to the extreme. Every challenge, every obstacle is treated exactly like that. You will have the intro, where the problem becomes apparent, the challenge, and then the out of nowhere OPness from his opponents point of view and the face slapping.

100 over chapters and it does not deviate from this formula. Every challenge, the face slapping and the amazement people get from watching this guy perform asspull after asspull does not change. Even the exact same sentence "what the hell, can you not be so OP" or some variation thereof is repeated every cycle to the point where I feel physical pain reading it.

All this combines to make a VERY slow moving plot. Each chapter drags on and on to make every problem as dramatic as it can possibly be, and then drag on even more so that they can fit as much awesome face slapping as they humanly can.

The result?

It starts out really funny and hilarious, but then you stop and realize that up till the most recent chapter, we've not even moved beyond 2 months in-story and there hasn't been any meaningful development what so ever. <<less
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GabeZhul
GabeZhul rated it
April 2, 2017
Status: c377
A very entertaining, if ultimately formulaic comedy set in a fairly cliched xianxia world filled to the brim with arrogant cultivators and haughty beautiful women just waiting to get egg on their face. But I am getting ahead of myself.

The protagonist, Zhang Xuan, is a reincarnate from modern times. He used to be a librarian in his previous life, so when he reincarnates in the body of the least accomplished teacher at a cultivation academy, his "reincarnation bonus" is the titular Library of Heaven's Path. Said virtual library exists in... more>> his head, and it does two things: by observing people or objects, he can gain a detailed description of them (with emphasis on their weaknesses and flaws), and by opening any books the Library creates a copy in his head which he can freely access and commit to memory. Not only that, the Library can also compile and even correct books on cultivation if there are enough samples, allowing him to create insanely advanced techniques in a matter of seconds.

However, not all is right, as he is not only the youngest, least-respected teachers in the academy he works at, he has no students either, and according to the rules a teacher without students would be fired. As such Zhang Xuan enters into a mad race against time to collect promising students while also trying to understand the powers of the Library and survive as his efforts lead him to more and more outrageous encounters against students, their relatives, criminals and even the very faculty of the academy he works at.

In terms of writing, this is a comedy all the way to the bone. While there are a lot of classic xianxia tropes in play, they all exist either as backdrops or things to be lampshaded. The characters are also suitably simple, though still enjoyable. This far the story doesn't have any "villains" per se, only antagonists that oppose the protagonist until they realize their folly. Even the "main antagonists" of the first arc, the teachers and leaders of the academy, aren't evil, only misguided and way too stubborn to let sleeping lions lie even after it becomes blindingly obvious that the protagonist is not the tr*sh they thought he was.

Overall I really liked this WN. The only two flaws I can think of are the fairly weak beginning (in the first few chapters the protagonist is unaware of the Library, so his actions and thought-processes are not really in line with his later behavior) and the somewhat formulaic rhythm the plot fell into after a while. Protagonist enters the scene -> People underestimate him -> Protagonist uses the library to dwarf them -> People are in awe of the protagonist -> He doesn't really understand just how outrageous the thing he just did was and feels bashful for all the praise. Rinse and repeat.

That said, this is still a really, really good, entertaining comedy that I would heartily recommend to everyone who read at least a few xianxia works in the past. Only time will tell whether the formula will get old with time, but right now this WN is still golden.

Edit3 [17-11-01]: After bumping the score up and down a bunch, I finally settled on 4 stars. The reason is thus: while this WN is repetitive, the MC has zero common sense even though he is the most knowledgeable person in any room, and the comedy is hit-or-miss, when all the buildup in an arc comes together and the comedy starts hitting home in rapid fire, it is a sight to behold, and justifies reading through the otherwise often meandering story. That said, if you have little tolerance for repetitiveness, I am not sure I can recommend it. Maybe just skim past the filler and the onlookers and experts. It will be just this:

"He cannot do it! I should know, I am the number one expert in regards to X here! -&Gt; Oh no, he did it! -&Gt; Oh no, he did it so well the ancient sages are crying rainbow tears over the horizon! -&Gt; Oh no, he went one step further and doesn't even realize how amazing the thing he did was! -&Gt; Brother, why didn't you tell me you were an expert of X before I made an ass of myself?!"

There, now you don't need to read the same lines when he does this to the beast masters, the apothecaries, the poison masters, the master painters, the master teachers, the apothecaries (again), the formation masters and so on, and instead you can focus on the actual good stuff. You are welcome.

P.S.: Yeah, I kinda realize that the last three paragraphs were pretty much damning with faint praise, but trust me, I can make fun of this story like this because I actually like it all the same and I think it's worth reading even with these flaws in mind. <<less
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LoneDK
LoneDK rated it
March 9, 2017
Status: c343
I gave it a 4 star in an earlier review but as I continue reading I would have to give it 1.25/5. This was on hold for me for a long time as I want to store up some chapter but after revisiting I was massively disappointed and ultimately dropped it.

Story 0/1 star: No story whatsoever. The MC gets plopped into this world with the most OP power I have ever seen and there's no semblance of a plot. Normally not deal breaker if the mini-arcs of the story was... more>> enjoyable but they are not. It's so repetitive that it is amazing. Basically every story-arc is: Everyone underestimate the MC then he goes on to blow everyone mind.

Writing 0.5/1 star: Normally when a novel has very minimal story, the writing will have to carry it and in this case it did for the first 300 something chapter. However even then I felt it was a bit repetitive and after reading another 43 chapters, it is definitely way to repetitive. The author is way to focus on stroking the MC's OP power. There's no tension as he is the god at everything with his powers. Too many goddamn trials and tests to show off the MC's power. Sure there are some fun moments but it doesn't make up for the repetitiveness.

Character 0.25/1 star: The main character is ok but he is uninteresting. He has little motivation beside "get stronger". A little bit comedic at time but that's about it. Side characters are 1 dimensional and nonexistent. They are the standard "geniuses and beauties" and the author keep introducing new ones but they are so copy and paste. I mean one can only tolerate a certain number of "genius beauties with rich families" before it become stale.

Enjoyment 0.5/2 star: I enjoyed the first 100 something chapters of this novel immensely but as I continue reading it became apparent that this is one of those ultra repetitive novel. There's no coherent storyline, the writing is ok at best and the characters are mediocre. I kept reading and wishing there was something new but it never gave me that. Honestly I don't recommend this novel, it starts strong but fails to deliver as the story progresses. If you want a good, nontraditional xianxia, I'd recommend History strongest senior brother instead. <<less
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bobbyb123
bobbyb123 rated it
August 12, 2020
Status: c2268
Good points:

    • Novel idea of being a teacher
    • Decent humorous moments throughout the book
    • Good closure and wrapping up of loose ends (although there are certainly several plot holes and flaws, but they aren't too glaring)
    • Okay world building
    • Although at each hurdle where the MC is teaching or correcting someone, he mentions a bunch of stuff completely new or irrelevant to the reader most of the time (i.e. Herbs or cultivation methods we obviously haven't heard of and never will again), but the explanations are still pretty well thought out and are quite logical. It is interesting to see the scenarios that the author has cooked up. Even though it's a bit of a deus ex machina, each situation is like a neat self contained puzzle that we get to see unraveled. Others may not like this, but I found it enjoyable, albeit repetitive.
Bad points:

    • It gets into a highly repetitive rhythm of the exact same face slapping routine, with almost the exact same text at each occasion
        • Spoiler

          MC realizes he needs to accomplish something, so he goes to some guild or w/e. There will always be an event or competition occurring at that moment. Something contentious will happen so MC steps in. Everyone scorns him. He then wows everyone with his analysis of flaws and the person being analyzed will go: "How could he even know my secret cultivation technique?? Even my closest relatives don't know this!". MC solves everything and builds trust and gets what he wants. People who scorned him get slapped in the face, sometimes physically, but always mentally.

          [collapse]
    • The romance was awful
        • Spoiler

          The MC meets a girl that he spends little to no time with, but becomes absolutely infatuated with her. Although a reason is given that since she also possesses a fragment of heaven, there will be an inexplicable sense of familiarity that draws them together, but the most they have ever done together is hold hands (with a quick peck on the cheek from the MC to her). They don't even hug each other until the last 5 chapters. Just feels far too shallow to understand how both promise there lives to each other early on and that they're ok with the Firmament being destroyed as long as they can die together.

          [collapse]
    • Huge inconsistencies with his abilities
        • Spoiler

          I don't understand how the MC can easily grasp battle techniques and usage of his silver needles such that he is unbelievably precise and dextrous, yet he is incapable of actually forging pills or smithing. He obviously has all the requisite knowledge, yet what is it that makes him unable to swing a hammer or throw medicinal ingredients correctly? Probably one of my biggest frustrations

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    • At times, the MC can be unbelievably s*upid for someone so smart. It's often obvious to us readers w.r.t. Certain foreshadowing as to the identity of certain people. We are exposed to the same information that the MC is, yet information is often disregarded such that he will go: "Wow, is it really possible that X can be that person? Well there's no point thinking about this now" and he'll proceed to forget everything until it jumps out and puts him in a disadvantageous situation. I understand that the author is often trying to not jump the plot too far ahead and advance at a certain pace, but this is an awful mechanism to accomplish this.
        • Spoiler

          One related example towards the end that annoyed me was that almost no one knows the identity or gender of the Sky of Freedom's monarch, such that basically only Conferred Kings or Monarchs themselves know of it. And yet, when the MC goes to visit the Sky of Freedom, he pulls aside a random celestial and asks about where "God Monarch Lingxi lives", he responds saying "she" lives at so and so? The f*ck? Another situation was the identity of Little Chick. All the elements were there yet it was only towards the end that he starts to consider it.

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    • The characters and relationships often felt pretty shallow in this book. There are other books I've recently read where I actually feel something for the MC in certain bleak or tragic situations, but I felt nothing throughout the book. There were only two moments that stood out (that I actually bookmarked), which were:
        • Spoiler

          c797, when Wei Changfeng (Wei Ruyan's father) ends up dying trying to get the Cloudmist flower to save his daughter

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        • Spoiler

          c1576, when it turns out the one he is marrying is Luo Qiqi and Ruoxin shows up. This is probably the only time I was genuinely surprised by a plot twist that I didn't see coming, but it's partly because I forgot about the details of how Qiqi had to leave to go back to her family. That being said, it is utterly ridiculous that he never uses Qiqi's first name in the presence of her brother before the marriage and that he instead just assumes it's Ruoxin.

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    • Accelerated timelines towards the end
      • Spoiler

        The vast majority of the book takes place in the Master Teacher Continent, with a small portion dedicated to Azure, and an even smaller portion for Firmament. I feel like there could have been more room to explore the latter two, but I think most epics end up like this. Perhaps the author gets tired and feels the urge to end it sooner

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    • Probably 98% of the Chinese fantasy novels suffer from the lack of descriptions of the surroundings/environment, as well as people, and this book is no exception. It's understandable that at a certain scale, it gets hard to come up with some decent, unique descriptions for each place or person but there has to be some effort, I feel. For example, the MC once enters a folded space that's described as a "barren land". Wtf does that look like? Is it dead soil? Is it just black/grey rock? What does the sky look like? What does the air smell like? As a reader, I like to know these details to help paint a scene, and this book certainly leaves a lot to the reader's imagination.
Although there are many negatives, overall, I enjoyed the journey and the novelty of the cultivation system to some degree, even though there was a lot of repetitiveness and many elements lacking. It also felt a bit shallow, but I still think it ties things up better than many Xuanhuan novels out there.

Despite this being a gargantuan book, it felt surprisingly shorter than expected, but I also got decent at skim reading to get to only the core parts of the text which is probably the reason. In terms of comedy, I definitely preferred "The Strongest System", but this also has its moments where I burst out laughing, and the author is sincere in his Afterword about mentioning that this book has its flaws. I'd give it a 3.5/5. Maybe read after you've gone through others on your bucket list.
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Moxmox
Moxmox rated it
March 5, 2020
Status: Completed
One of the few novels I wish I never picked up.

The first 1700 chapters are fueled by nothing but childish misunderstanding plots.

None of the subplots offer a decent ending. Every single subplot has an anticlimactic ending.

... more>> Despite having a harem tag, this novel has no harem. None. The only woman in this novel that the MC pursues... is one that the author does a horrible job creating. She has no character progression. No personality development.

The MC is as dumb as dish water. He has to be. With only childish misunderstanding fueling every plot, an MC has to be dumbed down. Otherwise, how would he walk into so many misunderstandings?

The only thing decent is.. it does have good comedy here and there. There were quite a few times I LOLed. <<less
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excr
excr rated it
January 25, 2018
Status: c502
To be frank, it started out quite good. I had high hopes for this. But as chapters come, I realize that it was just the same thing over and over again. It's basically rinse and repeat the novel. Heck, this is even worse than Against the Gods.

You have the MC who has cheat like powers doing the impossible while witnesses awe at his supposedly greatness. And that's it. That all you need to know. It's rinse-repeat. There isn't a nuance of character progression at all. I'm at 502 chapters and... more>> if you swap the Chapter 1 MC to 502 MC, it'll be just the same, Personality-wise.

Now for the side characters, like everyone else in the review section that's critical of this novel. The side characters are basically stereotypes. They're unoriginal, undriven and could barely be count as someone that's necessary to the story.

tl;dr - rinse-repeat novel. Same plot with different skin. I don't recommend it. <<less
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kublikhan
kublikhan rated it
November 30, 2018
Status: c602
I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a light hearted read with a dense OP MC with some nice comedy elements in it. The MC is generous to his friends, ruthless to his enemies, and oblivious to his offensive actions and words.

However many of the plot elements and comedic aspects of the novel are recycled many times over. That joke was funny the first time. The 10th time? Not so much. Wanting to see how that plot point turned out was interesting the first time. But the 10th time?... more>> Also, many parts of the novel feel contrived. The author intentionally chooses dialog for the MC so that it can be misinterpreted by the other characters for comedic effect. Ex: "I need to check your wife's pulse" instead becomes "let me touch your wife." Or: "You have an aneurysm that is about to blow" instead becomes "You're f*cked in the head!" Other times the author tries to portray the MC as wise and trying to give good advice only to be ignored by foolish idiots. Instead MC's actions and word choice make him come off as a narcissistic a**hole.

Take what should be a simple conversation:
MC: "Don't open that door."
"Why?"
MC: "There's a hoard of blood thirsty monsters behind it."
"Oh f*ck that then. I won't open it."

This is instead how the author writes the conversation:
MC: "Don't open that door."
"Why?"
MC: "If you won't grovel on the floor at my every word then you are not even worth speaking to."
"Christ it was a simple question. We traveled 1000 miles to see the person on the other side of that door and you refuse to even explain why we have to turn around empty handed? I'm opening the door."
<party is attacked by blood thirsty monsters>

Now what would be a logical follow up to this conversation?
"a**hole! Why didn't you just say there was a horde of monsters about to attack us?!"

Instead, author has the other party say:
"My god we were fools! Not only should we have listened to every word he said, we should have s**ked his d*ck in gratitude for his wisdom!"

Another aspect I disliked was how every area he is in is presented as prestigious and fit for a king and attended by the cream of the crop. Only every time he leaves he says "man that place was a sh*t hole with a bunch of backward idiots who couldn't find there ass with both hands. The area I'm in now is really the cream of the crop." Only for that area to turn into the new backward sh*t hole. This keeps going on and on until the size of the planet they are on increases to ludicrous proportions. The size of this planet quickly passed Earth's size, then Jupiter's size, then the size of the sun, then hundreds of times bigger than the sun. Ridiculous.

So good novel early on, but lower marks as the story goes on. <<less
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